Karina Hansen Is Back Home

On Monday 17 October 2016, after
three and a half years of incarceration, Karina finally returned home to her
family. The arrangement was on a trial basis but in the hope and expectation
that she would be finally and permanently back where she belongs.

In recent weeks, Karina’s
condition had improved slightly and her parents were able to visit her on a
regular basis (more detail in my previous post). As a result, meetings took
place between those in charge of the Clinic at Hammel where she had been an
inmate since February 2013 (see Karina’s
Story below for background) and representatives of Karina’s family. An
arrangement for Karina’s return home was agreed whereby her parents would take
her home within the next few days and she would remain there for a trial
period. If all went well, she would stay on at home permanently.

Significantly, Karina was well
enough to sign a document saying that she wanted to go home with her parents.
Although she was still unable to speak, she was able to communicate via
gestures that she understood the plan and wished it to happen.

The trial period has now passed
without incident and so Karina and her family have decided that they want to
share the news with their friends and supporters all over the world.

Karina has finally come home.

A request for privacy

It is Karina’s birthday on 7 November, the first one she will have
been able to enjoy at home with her family since 2012. Her supporters all over the world will be celebrating with
her. There are various groups (on Facebook, for example) with more details of
how to get involved.

The Hansen family is very
grateful for the huge amount of support and many good wishes which they have
received over the last few years. However, this is a time of enormous
re-adjustment and they would like to request that, once Karina’s birthday is
over, their privacy is respected. Karina has a long way to go with her recovery
and her family members need time to adapt to their new situation and reflect on
how to process the traumatic events of recent years.

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Regular readers of this blog will
be familiar with Karina’s horrifying story (as detailed in my series of posts) and with the often
appalling treatment of ME patients generally. However, for new readers, and
those needing a reminder, here is a summary:

ME patients in many countries are
still routinely referred to psychiatrists who use the inappropriate, and sometimes dangerous, psychosocial
treatment model; patients are frequently unable to access medical treatment
with a knowledgeable physician. There is still no recognized diagnostic pathway
or treatment for ME – and definitely no cure, despite the claims made by some.]

Inevitably, Karina’s diagnosis
became the subject of a prolonged dispute. Her family continued to care for her
at home, in accordance with her express wishes. However, in February 2013, then aged 24, she was
forcibly removed from her home by a large team of police, doctors and social
workers. She was taken to Hammel Neurocenter, against both her own will and
that of her family. Hammel is part of “The Research Clinic for Functional
Disorders” at Aarhus University Hospital.

Several doctors have been
involved in Karina’s case but psychiatrists Nils Balle Christensen and Per Fink were in charge of her treatment at Hammel. Shortly after her initial
detention, she was classed as a “voluntary” patient, despite having been taken
there against her will; she was found by a court subsequently to lack capacity
to make her own decisions. As a result of that finding, the court appointed a
legal guardian to take responsibility for her welfare and make decisions on her
behalf. Her condition deteriorated rapidly after her admission to the Clinic.

Three years on, in February 2016, Karina remained a de
facto prisoner of the state. She had been moved to a nearby rehabilitation
center but allowed very little contact with her family. Her father was
permitted to visit her in December 2015.
Whilst she was physically clean and cared-for, she was apparently immobilized,
in a wheelchair and unable to speak except for incomprehensible mumbling and
grimaces. At that time, she did not appear to recognize her own father.

During the course of 2016, I have written a series of blog
posts chronicling and analyzing Karina’s story from my perspective as a lawyer,
a journalist and a long-time ME patient. On 12 October, I wrote a short update detailing the changes which were beginning to come about in Karina’s
condition. Although she still could not speak, her ability to communicate with
gestures was increasing, her mobility was improving and her parents had been
able to visit on a regular basis during the preceding weeks.

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Official comments on Karina’s case

Regular readers may recall from
earlier articles in this series that I contacted (via an academic colleague who
is an expert on Open Justice in European countries) the Danish Ministers for
Health and Justice and Hammel Neurocenter. These requests for comment were
made in February 2016.

* The Minister for Health replied two months after the original request
and refused to comment on the basis of patient confidentiality (although the
request was worded as a general inquiry rather than for specific information about
Karina).

* The Minister for Justice sent standard acknowledgments and eventually
responded in July (nearly six months after the original request). The reply
simply referred the inquiry back to the Minister for Health.

* Per Fink replied within two days on behalf of himself and Hammel. In summary, he stated that all
patients are there on a voluntary basis and that the clinic is very popular

The Clinic has been contacted
again for comment about Karina’s return home. I will update this article when I
receive a response.

Where are we now?

The status of Karina’s legal
guardian will need to be resolved formally by the Court. Whether or not his
role in these proceedings (see previous posts) is subjected to any
further scrutiny is another matter. Only time will tell. And there are other
issues such as ongoing medical treatment which will still need to be addressed
so the story is not necessarily over yet.

However, the question which I
asked in Karina Hansen 3: Update March 2016 remains unanswered: “In the
absence of any clear explanation, the inevitable question arises: [was] her
condition the direct result of a state-orchestrated plan which went horribly
wrong?”Perhaps this question will
be addressed if there are any further legal proceedings in relation to these
events.

How much damage has been done to
Karina and her family remains to be seen. After three and a half years in an
institutional environment, there will be considerable adjustments and
adaptations to be made. It is to be hoped that plans have been put in place and
that appropriate support will be made available to them.

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Significance of Karina’s story for the future

Karina’s story is horrifying. It
is a story which should be of the utmost international concern, as a salutary reminder
not only of a shocking breach of one young woman’s rights but also of the
continuing scandal of the appalling treatment and stigmatization of ME patients
all over the world.

It is also of supreme importance
that a permanent record of these events is publicly available as reference
material for the future. That is why I have invested so much time and effort
into researching and writing this series of articles (always whilst battling through my own brain-fog, one of the
hallmark symptoms of ME and, for me, the most difficult of all to live with).

But, for now, the international
ME community can celebrate the fact that Karina is free at last.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Bente Stenfalk of Borgerretsbevægelsen (Civil Rights Movement Group in Denmark) for
keeping me up to date with the Group’s work in assisting Karina and her family.

I would also like to thank Rob Wijbenga from the Netherlands for
his support and assistance.

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Disclosure

I have lived with the illness ME
since 1981. For more information see
About.

About Me

I am a Christian, saved by grace alone through faith alone. I have had the neuroimmune disorder ME, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, since 1991. From North Somerset, now in N. Ireland. Please see my website for further information about ME.